Jessica Shyu, now in her second year with Teach For America, is a special education teacher at an elementary and middle school on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. Once a journalism student from the Washington, D.C., area, she has since traded the Beltway for the sprawling mesas of the Southwest. In this opinion blog, Jessica will chronicle the good, the bad, and the occasionally amusing of being a young teacher at an underresourced school in a rural community.

Giving thanks

What is Thanksgiving like on the Navajo Nation? Thanksgiving is paper turkeys adorning my classroom door with all that we’re thankful. Thanksgiving is a whole community gathering for a turkey dinner on Wednesday in the cafeteria. Thanksgiving is going around the cafeteria and getting hugs from a dozen moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas and aunties who barely looked twice at me last year. (And reminders from them to not party too hard this weekend in Washington, D.C.)

For all who wonder what it’s like to teach and celebrate Thanksgiving with Native Americans, I have no real insights for you. From popping in and out of elementary and secondary classrooms at my school, it appears that Thanksgiving is taught much the same way it was taught to me in grade school: Native Americans, Pilgrims and turkey. But more importantly taught is the spirit of thankfulness and being with family and friends—lessons that should be taught year-round. However, it is interesting to note that my school does not take a holiday for Columbus Day; instead, we get Navajo Sovereignty Day off in April. :-)

6 Comments

I've been reading your interesting blog lately, but the note about not celebrating Columbus Day on the reservatioin really caught my attention! I can't wait to relate this to my wife, who is 1/4 Choctaw. What an insight. Made my day.

Interesting comment that Thanksgiving was being taught the same way as your childhood memories. How deep did you delve into what is being taught at your current school? I would like to bet that it is NOT taught the same, even if the players (pilgrims, Indians, turkeys) are. Let me know what you find out!

Hi,
I was wondering why my post written a couple of weeks ago, is not here? Did you object to something in it?

RESPONSE:

Hi Sasha,
Thanks for reading the blog. I just saw your comment from earlier in the day regarding a missing comment. I honestly have not seen that comment from before. I make it a policy never to delete a comment unless it's inappropriate (such as when someone asks me for a good time). Please feel free to leave what you remember of your previous comment again-- I look forward to reading it!
Jessica

I just wanted to comment that this entry was very inspirational and helpful to me. I also teach on the Navajo Nation, and I was trying to come up with a Thanksgiving lesson for my religion class. Your comments made me stop analyzing an angle and just think about what Thanksgiving is to me: a time to see my family and be thankful that all of those people are in my life. Therefore, this is the angle I'm going to present, so thank you for your insight.

You may have not intended to do so, but I think New Balance Shoes Reviews you have managed to express the state of mind that a lot of people are in. The sense of wanting to help, but not knowing how or where, is something a lot of us are